Posted Political Signs Indicate Primary is Near

(Le Mars) -- You probably have noticed several political candidates signs posted around the county and thought it is way too early since the November general election is at least six months away, so why the urgency? Iowa's primary election is scheduled for June 5th, and in Plymouth County there are no Democrats seeking local political office. However, Democrats are still encouraged to vote in the primary election and can submit a write-in candidate's name. Stacy Feldman, the county auditor says a primary election is to nominate a candidate for the position representing the political party. The general election is to elect the candidate for the position. Three incumbant supervisors are seeking re-election and they are being challenged by three opponents of the same party. In District 2, incumbant candidate Mark Loutsch is seeking another term while his challenger is Wayne Schipper. District 3 incumbant is Don Kass and also seeking the position is Merlin Wagner. District 5 has incumbant Jim Henrich facing the challenger Dan Smith. The sheriff's race has incumbant Mike Van Otterloo going against challenger Jay King. Feldman says that in Plymouth county all eligible voters can cast their ballot for the each of the supervisor positions, not just the district of residence. According to Feldman, and as of May 2nd, Plymouth County has 16,937 registered voters. There are 3437 registered Democrats in Plymouth County, 7636 registered Republicans, and 5850 that have no party affiliation.